Chapter 338: Happy Transactions

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During the negotiation for the Kingdra's Reverse Scale, Sato played it smart. Though he was inwardly excited, he maintained a calm and indifferent exterior.

While his gaze occasionally lingered on the Reverse Scale with admiration, he made sure to appear disinterested.

Rather than naming a price upfront, Sato let the Rocket Enforcement Squad member who presented the Reverse Scale make the first offer, shifting the pressure of setting a price onto the seller and seizing the initiative in the deal.

Although the Rocket Enforcement Squad member did not possess Sato's system appraisal ability, it was clear to any experienced eye that the Kingdra's Reverse Scale was extraordinary.

He was aware that what he held was valuable.

However, due to the information asymmetry, the short-statured Rocket Enforcement Squad member was bound to be at a disadvantage.

Unable to gauge Sato's thoughts from his impassive expression, he hesitated before finally offering a price of 30 million PokeDollars.

"While this unknown scale does seem quite special, I have no idea what it actually does. You know how it is—if I buy something with no clear use, it's just going to sit around collecting dust. Why would I spend 30 million PokeDollars on a mere decoration? I'd be better off buying something I can actually use. It's not that I don't want to buy it, brother, but you need to tell me what it does first. If it's useful, then of course I'll consider purchasing it."

Hearing that the seller had only asked for 30 million PokeDollars, Sato was secretly delighted. However, he forced himself to put on an expression of disdain, as if he were looking at an idiot, before responding with a troubled look.

If Sato hadn't already used his system's appraisal function to understand the true value of the Kingdra's Reverse Scale, his words just now would have been entirely sincere.

Without knowing its purpose, keeping such an item would indeed be a gamble. Even if he somehow figured out what it was later, he wouldn't necessarily know if it would be of any use to him.

The risks were too great.

Besides, this was a major trading event. Spending a fortune on an item with an unknown function would be foolish. Only an idiot with money to burn would do something like that.

It made more sense to keep searching the free-trade area for useful Pokémon items rather than splurging on something so uncertain.

Although Sato currently had over 300 million PokeDollars, money was something he needed to spend wisely. After all, the real highlight of the event—the auction—had yet to begin.

If he wasted his funds now, how would he compete in the upcoming bids?

Hearing Sato's response, the short Rocket Enforcement Squad member blushed slightly under his mask. He knew full well that Sato's words made sense. He simply didn't want to accept it.

Deep down, he was convinced that the scale was extremely valuable, so he had tried to probe Sato's reaction, but asking for 30 million PokeDollars for an item with an unknown function was indeed a bit too greedy.

"Since Brother Miyamoto feels that way, I'll cut the price in half—15 million PokeDollars, final offer. I can't go any lower."

After hesitating for a moment, the short Rocket Enforcement Squad member decided to compromise. In fact, he made a drastic concession, offering a 50% discount right away.

"That's really unfortunate, brother. Something this 'valuable' isn't something I want to take from you. You should keep it—who knows? Maybe one day it'll make your Pokémon stronger or bring you unexpected fortune."

Under the anxious gaze of the Rocket Enforcement Squad member, Sato shook his head and declined the deal. He even subtly hinted that he was ready to move on to another seller.

At this, the Rocket Enforcement Squad member finally panicked. He knew he had been trying to rip Sato off, and now he had pushed things too far, earning Sato's dislike.

In desperation, he made a final offer that Sato found highly agreeable: 5 million PokeDollars.

And so, Sato acquired the Kingdra's Reverse Scale of immeasurable value for just 5 million PokeDollars.

Beyond this incredible deal, Sato was also pleasantly surprised by the next transaction.

The third Rocket Enforcement Squad member he negotiated with was a tall man who presented him with a book on Poison-type Pokémon training.

Of course, this book was an abridged version, covering training methods only for Koffing, Arbok, Grimer, Nidoran, and Nidorina.

Even so, Sato gladly bought the book for 10 million PokeDollars, because it contained a recipe for a special food exclusively for the Nidoran evolution line.

Having personally created a specialized food for his Swampert, Sato was well aware of the benefits of top-tier Pokémon food.

Finding a recipe for Nidoran's evolution line was an opportunity he couldn't afford to miss.

Currently, his Nidoran had evolved into Nidorino, and Sato estimated that it wouldn't be long before it reached its final evolution, Nidoking.

If he could successfully create a specialized food for Nidoking using the recipe from the book, it would greatly enhance Nidoking's strength—an invaluable boost for his team.

After completing the deal, Sato learned from the tall Rocket Enforcement Squad member that the book had been taken from an unfortunate Poison-type specialist.

Along with the book, the man had also acquired several strange poisonous items from the same victim.

"If possible, I'd like to buy all those poisonous items from you as a bundle. What do you think?"

Sato didn't even bother asking what the strange poisonous items were. He simply made an offer to buy them outright.

His guess was that they were various ingredients used to prepare food for Poison-type Pokémon. He had expected the seller to take advantage of this opportunity to charge him extra, but for some reason, the man readily agreed to the deal.

Once the exchange began, Sato understood why the man had been so eager to part with the items—they were all pungent, foul-smelling toxins, including poisonous snakes, scorpions, and spiders.

Just looking at the hairy, venomous spiders made Sato's scalp tingle. The thought of these ingredients potentially being used in Nidoking's specialized food left him feeling a bit queasy.

In addition to the Kingdra's Reverse Scale and the Poison-type training book, Sato also purchased three valuable TM discs from the Rocket Enforcement Squad members:

Aerial Ace for Golbat, Aqua Tail for Swampert, Shadow Claw for Meowth.

These three TMs cost him a total of 12 million PokeDollars, with Shadow Claw for Meowth being the priciest, making up half of the total amount.

By the end of the transactions, Sato had spent over 20 million PokeDollars. Yet both he and the three Rocket Enforcement Squad members left satisfied with their trades.

Before parting ways, they even exchanged contact information, marking the conclusion of a highly successful deal.